James Batemon III (born April 8, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Ironi Kiryat Ata of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

with

North Dakota State College of Science The North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) is a public college in Wahpeton, North Dakota. It is part of the North Dakota University System. Founded in 1903 by provision of the state constitution, the State College of Science offers degre ...

and Loyola Marymount. Following his college career, Batemon played professionally in Europe. In 2022, he was named the LNB Pro B Most Valuable Player.

High school career

Batemon attended

Riverside University High School Riverside University High School is a public high school located on the East Side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a college preparatory curriculum. It is a part of the Milwaukee Public Schools system. History Pre-1912 Starting in the early 185 ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

College career

Batemon played two seasons of

with

from 2015 to 2017 before transferring to Loyola Marymount where he played until 2019. Batemon made an immediate impact on the program in his two seasons after transferring to LMU from an All-American career at North Dakota College of Science. As a junior, Batemon ranked fourth in the WCC in scoring, and led all newcomers to the conference, with a 17.8 ppg average in his All-WCC Second Team season and WCC All-Tournament Team. In his senior campaign, Batemon tied the program record by starting and playing all 34 games, finishing with the third-most minutes played in a season in school history at 1201. His senior year was filled with accolades after leading the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

with 54 steals as he was named to the All-WCC First Team,

Lou Henson Award The Lou Henson Award is an award given annually by '' CollegeInsider.com'' to the most outstanding mid-major men's college basketball player in NCAA Division I competition. The award, established in 2010, is named for legendary Illinois Fighting Il ...

Watch List, and Jamaica Classic Montego Bay Division MVP. Finished his career tied for 13th at 17.0 career ppg, 15th in career free throws made (323), 16th in career assists (261), and third in career minutes averaged (25.2).

Professional career

After going undrafted at the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

, Batemon started his pro career with

Ogre An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...

of the Latvian-Estonian League. For the 2020–2021 season, Batemon joined JA Vichy-Clermont of the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the French basketball league system, 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since t ...

. The following season he signed with Tours Métropole Basket. After the season he was named the LNB Pro B Most Valuable Player. On August 10, 2022, Batemon moved to ASK Karditsas of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

. On 15 October 2022, he scored a

buzzer beater In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken before the game clock of a quarter, a half (if the half is the second one, then, a game), or an overtime period expires but does not go in the basket until after t ...

from half-court to give Karditsa a 59–57 win against Kolossos Rodou On January 11, 2023, his contract was bought out by German club

Crailsheim Merlins The Crailsheim Merlins, for sponsorships reasons named Hakro Merlins Crailsheim, is a professional basketball club based in Crailsheim, Germany. Established in 1986, the club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the highest professional leag ...

. As of 2023, he plays for Ironi Kiryat Ata of the

References

External links

Proballers ProfileRealGM ProfileEurobasket.com Profile
Living people 1997 births American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Latvia American men's basketball players Basketball players from Milwaukee ASK Karditsas B.C. players Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball players Point guards {{1990s-US-basketball-bio-stub